The report lists financial institutions around the world that support the cluster bomb trade through loans, investment banking services and investment.

It points out the majority of cluster bomb victims are innocent civilians who are killed or maimed by dormant bombs in more than 20 countries, which explode years are being used in combat.

Although none of the munitions companies are based in the UK - but in countries such as South Korea and the US, which have yet to sign up to an international convention to ban the bombs - some of the biggest names from our banking and investment world feature in the report's 'hall of shame'.

Other institutions named include investment companies Aberdeen Asset Management, Henderson Global Investors, Old Mutual and Schroders. Insurers Standard Life, Prudential and Legal & General were also named.

According to the report, the companies named have loaned and arranged $20bn (£12.5bn) worth of funding for the weapons manufacturers, despite an international campaign involving 23 countries – including the UK – to have their production banned.

HSBC and Barclays are named as two of the main beneficiaries, says the report. HSBC underwrote £397m in bond issues between 2007 and 2009 for US company Textron, which claims its products leave 'a clean battlefield'. It also contributed £90m to Textron's loans in 2007.

Since 2007, Barclays has underwritten £145m worth of Textron bond issues; in 2007, it also contributed £133m worth of credit to Textron and a further £33m to US company Lockheed Martin, says the research.

Barclays was the only bank prepared to comment, according to The Guardian. It said: 'Barclays group provides financial services to the defence sector within a specific policy framework. It is our policy not to finance trade in nuclear, chemical, biological or other weapons of mass destruction.

'Our policy also explicitly prohibits financing trade in landmines, cluster bombs or any equipment designed to be used as an instrument of torture.'

A spokeswoman added that Barclays had supplied money to Textron, which makes cluster bombs, but that the US firm was a broad-based weapons manufacturer.

UK companies were notably absent from a 'Hall of Fame' listing those that refuse to have investments linked to the production of cluster bombs, however, the UK's Co-operative Financial made it into a best-practice 'runners-up' category.